Cherokee County puts-off immigration vote

The Cherokee County Commission decided Monday night to wait until mid-January at the earliest to vote on a revised ordinance targeting illegal immigrants.

A 2006 county law was passed making it unlawful for landlords to rent or lease to people not able to prove citizenship. That ordinance is currently tied-up in a legal challenge. The revision calls for any prospective renter to apply for an occupancy license and get verified for citizenship. It also targets business owners who hire undocumented workers.

Commission members last night heard public comment on the re-worked proposal, which drew strong opinion from both sides of the issue.

Debbie Seagraves has problems with the proposal. She’s with ACLU-Georgia, and a lifelong Cherokee County resident:

"I'm very concerned about the idea that everyone in this county would be required to get a license to rent a home. If that is not inherently un-American, I don't know what could be."

Seagraves and others also voiced concern over the cost to businesses during bad economic times.

Others support the ordinance. Community activist D.A. King says the proposal hits all the right notes:

"You can tell this is a good ordinance by the amount of people who are here opposing it. This bill--this ordinance--has all the right enemies."

A commission member detailed this version should be able to hold-up to possible legal challenges.

Cherokee County proposes new immigration law

Cherokee County is proposing a new measure to crack down on illegal immigration. The proposal would make renters prove citizenship, and would threaten to suspend business licenses of companies with undocumented workers. The Cherokee County Commission will present the proposal at a public hearing tonight.

In 2006, a similar action was tried, but it was challenged in court and never enforced. The Cherokee Commission chairman says this new ordinance is designed to send a strong message for a problem the federal government won’t address. However, an attorney with the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund says the measure is quote “legally problematic."

Immigration and Customs Training

Northwest Georgia police are receiving federal training to help identify illegal immigrants. Whitfield County is the second in Georgia to gain access to the federal database of ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It’s a record of fingerprints taken from arrested illegal immigrants. It will help officers determine the residency status of newly arrested people faster since a person can only be detained for 48 hours.

Whitfield County Sheriff, Scott Chitwood said his department applied for the program after hearing from worried locals.

“Well, in the last several years we’ve seen a large increase in the Hispanic population here in our community and there’s a very large concern by our local citizens,” said Chitwood.

Chitwood said the community thinks the overall crime rate is growing, but the majority of crimes committed by the Hispanic population are misdemeanor traffic violations.

Northeast Neighbor, Gwinnett County is under pressure from local officials to apply for the program as well. Last year, 360 inmates were deported from Gwinnett County’s jail.

Bill could keep illegal immigrants in jail

A state lawmaker wants to make it harder for illegal immigrants accused of crimes to post bond and leave jail.

Rep. Calvin Hill (R-Canton) plans to sponsor a bill that would close what he sees as a dangerous loophole. He says under current law, people accused of all but the worst crimes can go in front of a lower court judge or clerk, put up bond, walk away and disappear.

He has no exact figures on how many people are taking advantage of the system. But, Hill says, "Anecdotally, I've been talking to sheriff's departments, clerk's departments and bail bondsmen who say not only is it a serious problem, but it's increasing every day."

Hill says the situation has gotten so bad that many bail bond companies will not do business with illegal immigrants.

His legislation would require an undocumented person charged with a felony to go before a Superior Court judge who would then determine whether they should post bond or go back to jail.

Hill says he is not trying to target any particular ethnic group.

Some Georgia farmers fear immigration reform

Georgia farmers want their voices heard in the debate over illegal immigration.

Many farmers are worried that local crackdowns on illegal immigrants will drive away needed workers. Some say Mexicans are the only ones who will work in the fields. They say crops are rotting in the fields while would-be legal workers are stuck abroad waiting for their visas. Some smaller farmers say they can’t afford the fees for the federal H-2 visa program that brings laborers into the country to work legally.

The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates that at least half of the nation's 1-million hired farm workers are illegal workers. Some immigration control groups contend that for every illegal worker, there's an unemployed American who could just as quickly fill the spot.

Gwinnett County to vote on immigration proposal

Gwinnett County will vote today on a measure that would prevent companies hiring illegal immigrants from receiving county contracts.

The proposal would require companies bidding on County contracts to verify immigration status of employees, and employees of their subcontractors.

Today's hearing is the second of two hearings. The first was held last Tuesday, and drew no citizens to speak for or against the measure.

Officials expect comments today. Opposition to the proposal is growing in Latino communities in the metro-area. A representative of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials called the plan "anti-business and anti-progress."

Perdue vetoes tougher penalties for unlicensed drivers

Gov. Sonny Perdue vetoed 41 bills Wednesday. One of them would have increased penalties for driving without a valid state license.

Under the bill, motorists caught without valid Georgia driver's licenses would spend at least two days in prison, and pay at least $500 in fines, unless a judge waived the penalties.

"I fear an unintended consequence of this legislation, as drafted, would subject persons with valid out-of-state driver's licenses to stout criminal penalties even absent the commission of a willful act," Perdue said in a release explaining his vetoes.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. John Wiles (R-Marietta), says he's "extremely disappointed."

"It's an important bill that addresses a real problem throughout the state," Wiles said. "People who have never had a driver's license are driving in Georgia and, in fact, killing Georgia citizens."

Immigrants' rights groups, however, are applauding the governor's veto.

"We agree with the Governor that SB 15 would have had many unintended consequences, similar to the arrest and detention of the Canadian tourist recently in Brunswick, Georgia," said Jerry Gonzalez, director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, in a written statement. "Comprehensive immigration reform is moving in our U.S. Congress and will solve the issue of unlicensed drivers among the undocumented immigrant population."

Wiles says his bill does not target any group in particular. He’s vowing to revive his legislation next year.

President speaks on immigration in Brunswick

President George Bush was in coastal Georgia Tuesday to push for an immigration bill that many in his own party are divided on. The President spoke in Brunswick at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, which trains border patrol and immigration agents, among other federal officers. Bush directly addressed his G-O-P critics, saying the bill currently before Congress is tough on illegal immigrants--requiring fines, back taxes and other provisions before they gain legal status.

"This is not an amnesty bill" Bush said. "If you want to scare the American people, what you say is, the bill's an amnesty bill. That's empty political rhetoric trying to frighten our fellow citizens".

Bush noted Georgia agriculture as one aspect of the economy which depends on a steady supply of immigrant workers. He said sending 12-million illegal immigrants back home is not an option.

Concerning the wildfires in southern Georgia and northern Florida, Bush pledged federal aid to help battle the blazes. So far, it has cost over 45-million dollars to fight the fires. The blazes have charred over 580-thousand acres in Georgia and Florida since starting in mid-April.

Presidential hopeful Giuliani visits Georgia

Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani campaigned in Georgia today. He told students and supporters at Atlanta’s Oglethorpe University that Republicans are the best equipped to combat terrorism.

Giuliani also addressed illegal immigration. He said he favors building a fence along the border and exiling illegal immigrants who commit crimes. But he also advocated a path to citizenship for productive workers already in the country. Georgia has one of the nation's fastest growing populations of illegal immigrants.